Kareena Or Priyanka?

Shyam Benegal is coming back with another exciting film called Chamki. He had zeroed in Kareena first for the role.

Says a source, “Kareena was excited to begin with. She was supremely charged by the role and what Shyam Babu had done with her sister Karisma in Zubeida.

But then she opted out, as she often does from offbeat challenges like Deepa Mehta’s Water and Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat pleading it was too early for her to attempt something so unconventional.

Then came Priyanka Chopra who was quite kicked about the part. But she and the film’s then-producer Sanjay Gupta had a fall-out earlier when she had said no to his Musafir. The role then went to Urmila Matondkar who had monetary issues with the producer.”

Says the source, “Kareena continues to have reservations about non-mainstream cinema. She was recently offered another heroine-oriented film by Rituparno Ghosh. She declined.

Barring Pritish Nandy Communications Chameli she has never returned to non-mainstream cinema. But now Chamki, set in Rajasthan, is being re-designed as a big broad epic musical with super choreography and lavish songs by Javed Akhtar and A R Rahman. No expense will be spared to make Chamki a big blockbuster.”

Now the producers are thinking afresh for someone else for the role. It requires a dancer trained in the Rajasthani folk dance style.

Who would you suggest?